Subsidized permanent custody (SPC) is federally recognized as the Title IV-E Guardianship Assistance Program (GAP). The Cabinet for Health and Family Services (Cabinet/CHFS) provides SPC assistance payments, on behalf of children, to relative and fictive caregivers who assume legal custody of the child for whom they have cared as foster parents and for whom they have committed to care for on a permanent basis. A child is eligible for kinship or subsidized permanent custody if the Cabinet determines that the child has been removed from their home pursuant to a voluntary placement agreement or because of a judicial determination to the effect that continuation in the home would be contrary to the welfare of the child.
Beneficiaries are children who receive foster care maintenance payments for at least six (6) months, while living in the home of a prospective caregiver who is certified or approved as meeting the certification requirements as a foster family.
The agency must determine the following:
- A return home or adoption is not an appropriate permanency options for the child;
- The child demonstrates a strong attachment to the prospective caregiver;
- The caregiver has a strong commitment to caring permanently for the child; and
- Children who are age fourteen (14) or older, must be consulted regarding their permanent custody arrangement with the caregiver.